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Notes

1960s

JERRY FRIEDMAN ‘67 was named a Top 25 Consultant by Consulting for 2013. He is the director of strategic initiatives for Accenture’s human services practice. In 2011 he was given a lifetime achievement award by the American Public Human Services Association after a 40-year career in public health and human services. He and his wife, Jeanette, live in Austin, Texas.

1970s

RICHARD A. BARCELONA ‘71, president and CEO of Bailey Engineers, was reelected for another three-year term to the board of Mon-Vale Health Resources, the parent company of Monongahela Valley Hospital. He lives in Canonsburg.

DAN BECK ‘72 was chosen as the trustee of the Music Performance Trust Fund, a nonprofit organization created by the main recording labels and musicians union that organizes thousands of free live concerts and music events each year at schools, hospitals, and community events. He has worked in the music industry for 20 years and lives in New York City.

JOHN BROWN ‘75 received a Melvin Jones Fellowship recognizing his contributions to the Lions Clubs International Foundation. He is retired after 31 years as an audit supervisor for the Pennsylvania auditor general.

ALBERT BOLEA ‘76 was elected to the board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation. He has worked in the oil and gas industry for nearly 40 years and is a distinguished adjunct professor of leadership at the University of Alaska College of Business and Public Policy.

PAUL J. KWIECINKSKI ‘77 was named vice president of student affairs for the Pittsburgh Chapter of APICS, the leading professional organization for supply chain and operations management.

1980s

LAWRENCE ZAHN ‘80 was elected to the board of Habitat for Humanity in Beaver County. He is a shareholder and tax specialist for the Wexford public accounting firm Cottrill, Arbutina & Associates.

JIM LUCHINI ‘83 came to Robert Morris as a Baldwin High School graduate in the fall of 1979, and joined the men’s basketball team as a walk-on guard as a freshman. He was a member and president of the Alpha Chi Rho chapter, made the Dean’s list, and earned a B.S.B.A. in marketing. Jim married his AXP little sister, Jean Collins, in 1984. They are the proud parents of two sons, Jamie, a student at Lehigh University, and Josh, a student at North Allegheny. Jim is vice president and part owner of Kirk Trucking Service in Delmont and has been with the company for 25 years. The Luchini family lives in Wexford.

KATHERINE CAMPBELL BAKER ‘84 is the Keystone regional director of operations for Comcast Business. She and her husband, Keith, live in Beaver County and spend their time traveling and renovating their house in the West Virginia panhandle, where they plan to eventually retire.

ROBERT GROSSMAN ‘84 received the Thomas R. Porter Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts. Robert is a founding partner of Pittsburgh accounting firm Grossman, Yanak & Ford.

MARK LABBY ‘85 retired as senior database administrator after more than 20 years with PHEAA. IBM has named him a Champion for Information Management; he is president of the international users group and a member of the customer advisory councils for the company’s DB2 product. Mark lives in Harrisburg.

DIANE PEARSON ‘85, financial advisor and shareholder of Legend Financial Advisors in McCandless, was named a Five Star Wealth Manager. She and her husband, Alex, have two sons, ALEX and DAVID, who are current RMU students.

DAVID GRECCO ‘88 is counsel in the energy practice in the Pittsburgh office of global law firm Jones Day. He formerly was general counsel of Linn Energy and vice president, legal, of Phillips Resources.

CHERYL VIERHEILIG ‘88 is vice president of human resources and executive business development at Piezos Technology in Pittsburgh.

1990s

MARY JANE OLSAVSKY ‘90 is estate and guardian group manager for PNC Wealth Management and is on the board of the Estate Planning Council of Pittsburgh.

ROBERT P. SPENCE ‘91 is treasurer of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

CHRIS LANGE ‘93 M’99 was promoted to director of marketing for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and the Americas at Industrial Scientific, the Pittsburgh maker of gas detectors. He joined the company as a marketing assistant the year he earned his bachelor’s degree.

BETH LYNCH ‘94 has been named a Five Star Wealth Manager for the second time. She is an investment relationship manager with Schneider Downs in Pittsburgh.

DENISE J. BUTLER ‘95 was named to the board of Pittsburgh Public Theater. She is chief financial officer and treasurer of Neville Chemical.

SAM MASTOVICH ‘95 M’98was named in the Pittsburgh Business Times as one of its 2013 Fast Trackers, recognizing people under the age of 40 who have successfully grown a business or nonprofit. Sam is general manager of Keystone Compliance, a New Castle product safety testing laboratory that was named one of the country’s fastest-growing engineering firms by Inc. magazine, and president of Mastovich Innovative Business Solutions. Sam and his wife, Kerry, live in Cranberry Township.

LOIS SARAKA TUCKER ‘95 has been in the sales business for over 20 years, working with companies such as Prudential and Telstart. She was married to RON TUCKER ‘85, who passed away in 1995.

STEVEN SHIVAK M’96 was appointed to the board of the Spina Bifida Association of Western Pennsylvania. He is president of SMC Business Councils and SMC Insurance.

MARK FERRANTE ‘97 and Sarah Warner were married in May. He is executive director of sales at Wynit Distribution. Mark and Sarah live in Syracuse, N.Y.

RONDA CURTIS AURAND ‘99 was recognized as one of Progressive Grocer magazine’s Top Women in Grocery for her outstanding leadership and influence in the industry. Ronda is west regional vice president for Atkins Nutritionals and lives in Andover, Kan.

SARA HEADLEY ‘99 was hired as the softball coach at SUNY Oneonta after coaching 10 seasons at Mercyhurst University, where she was also assistant athletic director. Sara was a catcher for the Colonials and was named ECAC Female Athlete of the Year as a senior. She lives in Oneonta, N.Y.

MATT MILLET ‘99 and his wife, Kelly, are the proud parents of a daughter, Elizabeth, born July 18. Elizabeth joins big sisters Lily and Molly. Matt is the director of university sponsorships and athletic fundraising at RMU. The Millet family lives in Sewickley.

ERIC POND ‘99 is virtualization practice manager at E-Safe Technologies. He was formerly a systems engineer in RMU’s IT department and lives in Moon Township.

GARTH WHITE ‘99 and CYNTHIA VIVEIROS WHITE ‘00 are the proud parents of Taylor Marie, born August 6. The White family lives in Upper Marlboro, Md.

2000s

LOIS BRYAN M’00 D’06, a professor of accounting at RMU, was named senior associate dean for academic excellence for the School of Business.

SARA BOEHM SHANAHAN ‘00 and her husband, Daniel, are the proud parents of daughter Eden Anne, born on July 18. Sara is a social media and marketing specialist at Colliers International in Pittsburgh, and Daniel works in safety and security for the Allegheny Airport Authority.

JOSEPH SLEZAK ‘00, is chairman of the future corporate leadership board of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. Joe is a marketing professional for the Pittsburgh accounting firm Katz Ferraro McMurtry.

BRYAN WHITTINGTON ‘00, sales associate and expert trainer at Sandler Training by Peak Performance Management, received the Gold Award during Sandler Training’s international conference for his contributions in developing revenue for the training center in Green Tree. Bryan is a retired Air Force captain who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

JENNIFER BURY ‘01 was named to Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s teacher cabinet. She teaches Spanish at Lee High School in Fairfax County, Va.

RANDY EAGAN ‘01 M’04 and his wife, Kimberly, welcomed daughter Amelia Grace to their family on July 8. The Eagan family lives in North Fayette.

RYAN RECKER ‘01 is the WTAE-TV morning sports anchor and reporter. He had been sports director at KVOA-TV in Tucson, Ariz., for six years before coming back to Pittsburgh to join WTAE.

KATIE SCHMIDT BREWDA ‘02 and her husband, Michael, welcomed a son, Carter Kalman, to the family on June 21. He joins big brother Cooper. The Brewda family lives in Mississauga, Ontario.

BRICE FRITTS ‘02 M’04 is a physical education teacher at Henrico County Public Schools in Richmond, Va., and an offensive line coach for Douglas Freeman High School. He previously was a teacher, athletic director, and head football coach at Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot Catholic School, leading the team to the 2012 state championship and garnering several coach-of-the-year awards.

LISA SOVAK M’03 earned her doctorate of business administration with a focus on marketing from Argosy University. She lives in Pittsburgh.

TAMAIRA BINION ‘05 M’11 is the assistant to the vice president for public relations and marketing at RMU. She previously worked as production coordinator at Ebony Holdings.

JEFF BLASKO ‘05 is tight ends coach for the University of Kansas Jayhawks football team under head coach Charlie Weis. He was formerly quality control coach for offense for the Florida Gators under Weis, then quarterbacks coach for Florida’s Gator Bowl win over Ohio State. Locally, he coached at Steel Valley and Bethel Park high schools.

KURT BRANAGAN ‘06 and ASHLEY HARFF ‘08 were married on August 17. Kurt is a merchandise planner at the corporate office of Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Ashley is an audit process manager for PNC.

AARON DEHAVEN ‘06 married Dana Brown on April 27. Aaron is director of loss-sensitive accounting at AIG Property and Casualty.

AMANDA HIDECK ‘06 M’13 is a high school mathematics teacher at Buckeye Online School for Success in East Liverpool, Ohio.

IVAN USERO ‘06 of the Daniel Carinci Nationwide Insurance Agency is chairman of the membership committee for the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

AMANDA KVORTEK WILLIAMS ‘06 and her husband, Brett, welcomed their first child, Colton Robert, to the family on August 27. The Williams family lives in Hoboken, N.J.

JENNA BURKETT ‘07 is the assistant women’s basketball coach at High Point University in High Point, N.C. She was formerly assistant coach at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla.

RACHEL CIBULAS ‘07 is head coach of the new women’s lacrosse program at Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio. She was formerly head coach at Adrian College in Michigan, where the team won league championships in both of her seasons there. Rachel was captain of the Colonials lacrosse team for two seasons.

SAMANTHA ELIAS LUGO ‘07owns Broke Little Rich Girl, a boutique on wheels, in Pittsburgh. She renovated a 21-foot bread truck and outfitted the interior with hardwood floors, shelves, and a dressing room, from which she sells women’s clothing and accessories.

AMANDA REA ‘07 is digital project manager at Brunner in Pittsburgh. She was previously with the Smith Brothers advertising agency.

NICOLE RIFFLE-MCCOMBIE ‘07 is an HR service representative at MetLife. She lives in Johnstown.

LOGAN BITTLE ‘08 and BRIANNE MCLAUGHLIN ‘11 were married on July 13. Logan is assistant coach for the RMU women’s ice hockey team and Brianne is competing in her second Olympic Games on Team USA this winter. They live in Moon Township.

JARED THOMAS ‘08 and his wife, Jenna, are the proud parents of daughter Ruby Grace, born on September 23. They live in Freedom.

ANDREW WATT ‘08 joined the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League. Previously he was a transition player with the Minnesota Swarm.

STEVE BEUTER ‘09 was named manager of Carnegie borough in August. He was previously an administrative assistant for the borough. Steve lives in Scott Township.

NICOLE CARTER ‘09 is a mathematics teacher at Mars High School. She and her husband, Leigh Easson, live in Pittsburgh.

MICHAEL JANDRASITS ‘09 and Casey Martin were married on July 13. Mike is the Panther Club financial operations coordinator inside the University of Pittsburgh department of athletics. Casey is a staff nurse at UPMC Presbyterian working in their trauma ICU department.

AUTUMN PRIDDY ‘09 is an associate programmer analyst at RMU. Before coming to RMU she was a computer operator at EFI.

NICOLE ROSE M’09 was named in the Pittsburgh Business Times as one of its 2013 Fast Trackers, recognizing people under the age of 40 who have successfully grown a business or nonprofit. Nicole is a member and former VP of operations of the Pittsburgh chapter of the National Black MBA Association, where her organizational and networking skills significantly boosted opportunities for the organization. She is a benefits analyst for United States Steel and Carnegie Pension Fund.

SCOT RUTLEDGE ‘09 joined RMU as web designer/digital media specialist. He was the graphic specialist at Community College of Beaver County. Scot and his wife, SAMANTHA BYNUM ‘09, live in Beaver Falls.

WILLIAM WHITAKER M’09 is an application developer in FIS technical services at the University of Pittsburgh.

2010s

ROBIN SANDERS D’10, international affairs advisor for Africare, visited the Nigerian Stock Exchange in June and had the honor of ringing its closing bell. Robin is a member of the RMU Board of Trustees. She lives in Alexandria, Va.

JOSIAH WHITEHEAD ‘10 was named Rookie of the Year for the Bloomington Flex in the Premier Basketball League; the Flex also won the minor league championship last season. Josiah played forward for the Colonials men’s basketball team.

BRAD BARBER ‘11 is men’s lacrosse coach at Hood College in Frederick, Md., making him the youngest men’s lacrosse head coach in NCAA Division III.

EMILY BIELEWICZ ‘11 is a part-time police officer for Heidelberg. After graduating from RMU, she completed the Allegheny County Police Academy.

RICK CANTER M’11 is assistant director of strength and conditioning at Longwood University in rural Virginia. He was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at RMU.

TAYLOR DURHAM ‘11 is CEO and founder of Dark Horizon Studios, an audio and video production company. He also produces local cable programming for the City of Pittsburgh.

KUNTA FOSSETT ‘11 is operations administrator at the Software Engineering Institute CERT division in Washington, D.C. He was accepted into George Washington University master of science in government contracts degree program. He lives in Bristow, Va.

SARA MEIER ‘11 M’13 is a retail sales merchandiser at Advantage Sales and Marketing. She previously worked as the graduate assistant for PR and marketing at RMU.

STEPHANIE SEELEY ‘11 is assistant athletic director for Louisville Collegiate School in Louisville, Ky., where she formerly was event manager.

KEVIN WILLIAMS ‘11 is a content producer at WRC-TV, the NBC station in Washington, D.C.

HANK FRALEY ‘12 is the offensive line coach at San Jose State, after holding the same position at the University of San Diego. He had an 11-year NFL career after playing for the Colonials.

BRAD PERCIAVALE ‘12 is an avid Civil War reenactor and participated in the Battle of Gettysburg reenactment in July. He plays the fife for the RMU drum and fife group.

DELAYNE BRIAN ‘13 joined Team Alberta of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. She was a goaltender for the RMU women’s ice hockey team.

MATTHEW CATANZARITE ‘13 is a piping support engineer at System One Holdings.

BRIAN WAGENHOFER ‘13 and MONICA COLE ‘13 are engaged and are planning a May 2015 wedding. The couple started dating their sophomore year at RMU.